Kevin Smith: Bruce Willis Is 'Soul Crushing' to Work With

January 24, 2011 (9:10 am) GMT

'I mean, a lot of people are gonna be like, 'Oh, you're just trying to blame the movie on him',' the director who works with the actor in 'Cop Out' said.

Director Kevin Smith has launched a scathing attack on Bruce Willis, branding the actor "soul crushing" to work with. The "Die Hard" star led the cast of Smith's 2010 comedy "Cop Out", but the film was panned by critics and the moviemaker subsequently compared the scathing reviews to "bullying".

Smith has now revealed he was unimpressed with the actor's attitude on set and his alleged reluctance to promote the picture. Speaking on American comedian Marc Maron's podcast, Smith says, "It was difficult. I've never been involved in a situation like that where one component is not in the box at all. It was f**king soul crushing."

"I mean, a lot of people are gonna be like, 'Oh, you're just trying to blame the movie on him'. I had no f**king help from this dude whatsoever." But Smith is full of praise for Willis' co-star Tracy Morgan, adding: "He's a f**king dream. Tracy Morgan, I would lay down in traffic for. Were it not for Tracy, I might've killed myself or someone else in the making of that movie."